2009 Spring Specials

10% discount on each of these services that will help rain seep in to the ground:

• lawn-to-garden conversion (min. 200 square feet)
• planting four or more native trees
  

"Development" is, in part, the removal of the natural landscape to add buildings, homes with lawns, roads and parking lots. This creates "impervious surfaces" which rain cannot penetrate. The ways this disrupts the ecology of a place are numerous, including:

• Stormwater runoff, causing erosion and floods
• Lack of groundwater recharge
• Pollutants and silt stifling stream life

Lawns, although "natural," do not let water seep in to the ground as well as gardens do. Turf saturates quickly, especially in a heavy downpour. The excess water runs off in to streets and streams, carrying with it lawn chemicals, street pollutants and a volume of water streams are not meant to handle.

Financially, the damages stormwater surges cause are imposing unanticipated and unprecedented expensese on municipalities. Eventually, residential impervious surfaces may be taxed to cover the costs. Homeowners who have installed sufficient stormwater mitigation (rain gardens, bioretention swales, etc.) would receive a discount or be exempted from the tax.

There is useful and aesthetic reason to have some lawn, but the amount of lawn that now exists is creating problems. Converting unused lawn areas in to gardens, or groves helps the environment and reduces your maintenance costs. Now that's a good two-for-one deal!